Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun The wife or widow of a duke.
- noun A woman holding title to a duchy in her own right.
- noun Used as the title for such a noblewoman.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun The consort or widow of a duke, or a woman who holds the sovereignty or titles of a duchy.
- noun A variety of roofing-slate two feet long and one foot wide.
- noun A part of ladies' head-dress in the seventeenth century, apparently a knot of ribbon.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun The wife or widow of a duke; also, a lady who has the sovereignty of a duchy in her own right.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun The
female spouse orwidow of aduke . - noun The
female ruler of aduchy (where women can reign). - verb UK, informal to
court orcurry favour for political or business advantage; toflatter obsequiously .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun the wife of a duke or a woman holding ducal title in her own right
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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Someone once said that the prospect of having sex with a duchess is more alluring than the prospect of having sex with a chamber maid.
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And there is Anne of Cleves, a duchess from a far-away country who cannot even speak the language in her new homeland.
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While a footman was absorbing the attention of the coachman by giving him some minute, unnecessary orders, Madame (as they called the duchess) slipped out of the carriage door with one of her ladies, while two others, who were standing ready in the darkness, took their places.
France in the Nineteenth Century Elizabeth Latimer 1863
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Teddy-bear that the matter had to be adjusted by distracting his attention in the direction of some drilling soldiers, while Wally concealed the toy under the embroidered rug which protected the plump legs of the "duchess" -- who submitted with delighted gurgles to being tickled under the chin.
Captain Jim Mary Grant Bruce 1918
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By the end the "poor little person" – as Diana Mitford called the duchess – far from being vindicated, is shown as stupid and venal, the moment of glamour in the 1930s just that, a chance whereby she caught the light of history.
Behind Closed Doors: The Tragic, Untold Story of the Duchess of Windsor by Hugo Vickers - review 2011
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Associated Press Sarah Burton The dress worn by royal bride Kate Middleton, now known as the duchess of Cambridge, was designed by Sarah Burton , creative director of Alexander McQueen, which is owned by France's PPR SA.
Gown Is a Boost for Fashion House Cecilie Rohwedder 2011
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The duchess has been the face of Weight Watchers for almost a decade now.
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JIMMY KIMMEL, HOST, "JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE": Even though Camilla is now technically, she is the princess of Wales, out of respect for Diana, she ` ll be known as the duchess of Cornwall.
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The duchess was the bosom friend of Lady Laura Kennedy, who was in love with Phineas Finn.
Phineas Redux 2004
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“I daresay Jane — the duchess, that is — will invite me for dinner tonight,” he said.
No Man's Mistress Balogh, Mary 2001
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